Spain hopes to follow Italy's lead
14/09/2007
The president of the Spanish Footwear Industry Federation, Rafael Calvo, has spoken out again about the need for shoes coming into the European Union from outside to have labels that identify their origin.
“This is clearly in the interests of consumers,” he said. “They want to know where the product comes from.”
He said he admired the amount of traction in the global footwear market Italian footwear producers had achieved by identifying their shoes as ‘Made In Italy’. He said: “That label is a magnificent umbrella for companies to shelter under. In Spain we have the intention of working towards something similar. But Italy’s footwear industry didn’t just come up with that scheme overnight. It works because Italy has a tremendous footwear tradition. We do too. We hope that, in the medium or long term, we too will be able to capitalise on our history, on our heritage and our craftsmanship. And this is an objective that we are going to achieve.”
